Rail-joint



(No Model.)

' A. W. KIMBROIUGH.

RAIL JOINT.

No'. 244,257. Patented Ju`1y12 ,.j1i881|;

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UNITED STATES4 PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR W. KIMBROUGH, OF SUMMITVILLE, INDIANA.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 244,257, dated July 12, 1881.

Application filed January 14, 1881.

To all 'whom it may concern Be itknown that I, ARTHURW. KIMBROUGH,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Summitville, in the county of Madison and State 5 of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in `Rail-Joints; and I do hereby declare the following to be a a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or gures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. '15 My invention relates to improvements in fastenings to be used for uniting the ends of railroad-rails of that type in which there are used fish-bars and bolts, said type being illustrated in patents to H. Weber, N o. 170,652, November 30,1875; Tift and Gobb,No. 149,002, March 24,1874; J. D. Felthousen, No.230,626, August 3, 1880; SamuelVanstone, No. 118,075, August 15, 1871, and O. Pagan, No. 204,363, May 28, 1878; and the object of my improvement is to provide a key for holding the bolts which pass through the rails and the fish-plates in position, said key being of peculiar construction, whereby it is rendered incapable of being removed or loosened by the action of passing trains by its springing action upon the bolt, but which may be readily removed, when desirable, as will be more fully explained hereinafter. I attain this object by the devices and their combinations illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rail-joint,

showing portions of two rails, sh-plates, the bolts for uniting the parts, and my improved device for securing the bolts in position. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section, showing the parts in position and the manner of applying the keys. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of my improved key, showing its tapering or wedge form, the aperture for the passage of the bolt 4 5 through it, and its serrated slot for embracing the neck of the bolt and for holding it fast thereon; and Fig. 4 is a plan view of one of the bolts, showing the neck formed thereon for the reception of the key.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

(No model.)

This rail-joint is represented as consisting of two iish-plates, A A', which are placed between the bases and heads of two rails, B B', in the usual or in any convenient manner, said rails being provided with elongated apertures, through which the bolts pass, in order that they may expand and contract with the changes of temperature.

The bolts for uniting the parts I prefer to make substantially of the form shown at C C in Fig. 2. They may,however, be of any other form that will admit of their being passed through the rails and bars, and allowing their heads to rest upon one of said bars. Whatever the shape of the body of the bolt may be, a portion of it is to be cut away so as to form a neck, as shown at D in Fig. 4 of the drawings. This neck is to be in such position upon the bolt that when it is in its proper position its inner shoulder shall be within the fish-bar, in order that the key, when being driven home, shall not rest upon said shoulder, and thus prevent the pressing together of the fish-bars and the end of the rail. 75

For the purpose of holding the bolts in position, and rmly uniting the bars and the rails, there is provided a key, E, of peculiar construction, its general contour being that of a wedge, or a device having two of its surfaces at an angle to each other.

Near one end of the key there is formed an aperture, F, of the form of the body of the bolt, and of such dimensions as to admit of its being passed over said bolt.

Extending from the aperture F toward the opposite end of the key there is formed a slot, G, the width of which is somewhatless in some of its parts than the thickness of the neck D of the bolt, the object being to cause the parts of the key which run along on each side of said slot to spring apart slightly when the key is being driven home, and thus cause it to be held firmly upon said bolt and prevented from receding or being loosened by the action of 95 the Wheels in passing the joints of the rails.

As a further prevention against the accidental moving of the key there are formed upon the inner walls of the slot a series of serrations or notches, which, as the key is driven forward, pass over the edges of the necked portion of the bolt and thus prevent it from receding.

When it is desirable to remove the key for any purpose, it can be done by inserting in its slot a tool that will spread its side portions apart sufficiently far to allow the projecting points of the serrations or notches to pass neck D of the bolt. There is shown in the drawings a plan of making a double key with two inclined surfaces and two slots, so that both of the bolts in one of the rails may be held by one key, or by two keys united together 5 but I prefer to separate the keys and use one for each of the bolts, as when they are united thereis greater trouble in removing and replacing them.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

l. A slotted key for uniting and holding in position the parts composing a railroad-rail joint, having in it a slot of less width at some of its points than the thickness of that portion of the bolt over which it passes, it being constructed substantially as herein described, whereby the bars which pass along the sides of the slots are made to act as springs for aiding in retaining the key in its adjusted position.

2. The wedged-shaped key E,having a central slot, the inner surfaces oi' which are serrated or notched, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In combination with the iish-bars A A', rails B B', the necked bolts C C, and keys E E, the parts being arranged substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR W. KIMBROUGH.

Witnesses:

THOMAS J KIMBROUGH, ROBERT H. LEAVELL. 

